In The News Archives

If there’s a key lesson in conservation, it’s this: you need to keep at it. So says Gurmit Singh, a veteran Malaysian environmentalist who has just published his Memoirs of a Malaysian Eco-Activist.
“Everyone thinks planting trees is…

ENVIRONMENTALIST Gurmit Singh has spent his life educating Malaysians on the real cost of preserving nature. Although he is not always successful in creating deep change, the man described as a ‘true blue activist’…

by Terence Toh, The Star
“Maintenance key to addressing environmental issues”, says veteran activist Gurmit Singh. “Most of the problems pertaining to the environment in the country today stem from issues of poor maintenance.”
Speaking at…

The unwavering eco-activist
by Elena Koshy, NST
Pressing the doorbell to the headquarters of the Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (Cetdem), I’m mentally going over my notes and questions.
The gate opens and the first…

This man has been fighting to save Malaysia’s environment for half a century
by Terence Toh, The Star
For most of his adult life, Gurmit Singh K.S. has campaigned tirelessly for the nation’s green soul.
He’s written books…

BY L. SUGANYA Thursday, 9 July 2015
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian author Khoo Salma Nasution (pic) won the colleague’s choice award at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize 2015.
The winners were announced on July…

BY ANEETA SUNDARARAJ
Penang’s Kapitan Keling Mosque evokes a sense of pride and belonging, writes Aneeta Sundararaj
IN the early 1990s, a little girl and her parents lived in Air Itam, Penang. Although the State Mosque…

会呼吸的古迹
老树世纪遮荫
Old Trees, the Living Heritage in Penang
一座美丽的城市，
通常种满绿树。
槟城树多，
泰半过百岁。
英殖民政府1802年开始种树，
将多种热带树木引进移植，
成就今日绿叶成荫。
两百年过去，
老树继续茁壮参天。
它们比一些战前老房子还老，
它们是会呼吸的古迹。
只不过，尽管天天见面，
人们不知树有树名，
忽略了槟城老树是东南亚区域里
长得特多特好的。
Penang is a beautiful city full of trees. Since British colonial government started to plant trees in 1802, and introduced a variety of tropical trees in Penang, today…

The Chulia in Penang wins
ICAS Colleagues’ Choice Award 2015
Areca Books is delighted to announce that The Chulia in Penang: Patronage and Place-Making around the Kapitan Kling Mosque 1786–1957 by Khoo Salma Nasution has won the Colleagues’…

ARECA Books has donated 280 copies of two English books to the Penang Education Department for the benefit of secondary school students.
The books that themed Malaysia’s post-independence would be placed at the libraries of…

By S. ISTA KYRA | nst_ipoh@yahoo.com
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE: Ruth Iversen Rollit is working on a book about her father, Berthel Michael Iversen, who designed many of Ipoh’s landmarks
IPOH: RUTH Iversen Rollit, daughter of Danish architect…

Tenas Effendy (b. 1936) passed away in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia on 28 February 2015 at the age of 79. Tenas Effendy is the non-de-plume of Tengku Nasaruddin Said Effendy; teacher, writer, poet, culturalist,…

Sometimes, we have to look through another’s eyes to see something special in the ordinary. Reading the memoirs of John Michael Broome Hughes, especially the section devoted to his time in this country, one…

Article by Farah Fazanna Zulzaha
Guests to the Rumah: An Ode to Malay House book launch took the time to enjoy the illustrations by London-based illustrator Ahmad Harun.
A BOOK of poems dedicated to traditional Malay…

Article by Wong Chun Wai
The newly refurbished church in Farquhar Street is one of the country’s 50 national treasures.
IT IS easily the most beautiful church in Penang but more than that, St George’s Church,…

Article by Kenny Mah
IPOH, Jan 24 — Initially conceived by a band of citizens concerned about the conservation of Ipoh’s historical sites, the Perak Heritage Society (PHS) now promotes public awareness and preservation of…

Article by Winnie Yeoh
Veteran shutter bug: A file picture of Ooi attending the official launch of ‘Portraits of Penang: Little India’ in Georgetown.
GEORGE TOWN: A local doctor has been featured in an article in…

Article by Christina Chin
Typical of architecture of its time, in the 18th century, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion features a mix of features, such as the Scottish cast iron columns and railings that surround an…

by Looi Sue-Chern
IMPORTANCE: Penang was more than just one of the Straits Settlement states under British rule, learns Looi Sue-Chern from an Australian author researching the history of Melbourne
Driven by his ancestral links, Australian…

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Areca Books is a Malaysian publisher established in 2005. We publish books on history, heritage, architecture, visual arts and environment. As a bookshop and online bookseller, we stock books related to Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Asia. We are located in the George Town World Heritage Site, Penang, Malaysia.